Kate's other life
by Gullnick
Summary: Part 10 up! Kate hides something important in her life from her teammates. But then she gets bad news and this is going to change everything. Totally TATE. Please review.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** Here comes the first part of my new story. I really hope you like it. This one is totally TATE.

**Storyline:** There is something Kate hides from her colleagues and friends. But then she gets bad news and her life is about to change.

**Timeline:** early – mid second season. Kate is still alive and I don't intend on killing her.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own NCIS or its characters. But I own Matt, Beth and Amanda. No money is made with this.

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****Kate's other life** - Part 1 

"Gibbs, I need some days off.", Kate, who just got off the phone, said.

"Kate, we just got a new case. I need you here.", Gibbs said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"You don't understand. I really need some days off. It's a family emergency. Someone very close to me was just diagnosed with Leukemia. I need to help her.", Kate said, tears starting to fall down her cheeks.

"I'm sure there are other persons who can help her. I'm sorry for your friend, but I really need you here, Kate."

"No, I can't stay. I need to go home. I'm the only one who can help her. If you don't give me some days off, I'm forced to hand in my resignation. I will take some days off. And don't even bother to ask, I'm not going to explain it at the moment. Later perhaps, but not at the moment.", Kate said, finally crying. She packed her bag and was on her way out.

"Kate, if there is anything I can help you, give me a call. If you need somebody to speak, you know where you can find me.", Tony said when Kate walked past his desk.

"Thank you Tony. But this is something I have to face alone. I'll call tomorrow, Gibbs."

Kate went out of the office without turning back. She had to go home immediately. Nothing could change her mind. In the darkness of the NCIS-garage she sat down and cried even harder. 'How could it be? She is still so young? She just turned two this month. How can she have cancer? Mandy is everything to me. I can't lose her, too. I wont survive another funeral.' Kate said to nobody.

The phone call just a few minutes ago had taken her by surprise. It was Dr. Roberts from Galilee Hospital in Washington. She had been there last week with Amanda, since she wasn't feeling well for quite some time. Kate thought she might have the flu, but like the doctor told her, she has Leukemia. She needed to do a Chemotherapy right now. The chance was good, that it would help her, but one could never be sure about it. 'How was she going to tell a two-year old girl that she was terrible ill and needed to stay at the hospital?', Kate wondered.

About ten minutes later,Kate was able to drive home. Normally she was more than happy to go home to her family, but not today. She was going to destroy a life. And she wasn't sure how all this would affect her own life. Sure, some great changes would need to be made, but would she be able to work in the near future? Her little girl needed her more than NCIS. What was about Tony? Would she survive not seeing him on a nearly daily basis?

She knew that they would never be more than colleagues or maybe friends, but seeing him every day helped her to survive. Now that she needed to stay home, there was no way she could see him. And she needed to stay home with her little girl, no matter what Gibbs was telling her. She loves her job, but Amanda needed her even more at the moment.

Kate opened the door of her house. She went inside and straight to the kitchen, where she would find her mother Beth probably.

"Kate, you are already home? Did something happen at work, dear?", her mother asked.

"No, mom. Nothing happened at work. But I got a call from the hospital. Mandy has Leukemia and needs to do a Chemotherapy right now. She is scheduled for tomorrow morning. For now, I'm staying at home. My little girl needs me now.", Kate said, sitting down on the table.

"Leukemia? Oh my gosh? That's terrible; she is too young to have cancer. How are you going to tell her?", Beth asked, sitting down next to Kate.

"I don't know. How are you going to tell a two-year old girl, that she is going to die?"

"Kate, don't even think about it. Mandy is not going to die. Everything will go just fine. She has her loving family, who is going to take care of her. She won't die."

"I just hope you are right. I can't lose her, too. That would be too much for me. I don't think I can live without her."

"Kate, don't worry. I'm sure, everything will go fine. She is a fighter, you know that. Just like you are."

Kate went up to the little girl's room. She was there, sleeping. She was so exhausted in the last few weeks, but now they knew the reason for that. Kate couldn't wake her up. She just sat there, watching the girl sleeping.

Only a few moments later, Kate was asleep, too.

Kate was in the nursery, making some late arrangements for the new life that would come sometime soon. She was kind of surprised, when the doorbell rung. She wasn't awaiting someone. Only her husband was scheduled to come home, but he got a key. Actually Matt, her husband was supposed to be home two hours ago. He had called her, when he left the office.

Kate went down to get the door. In front of her were two NCIS agents standing.

"What can I do for you?", Kate asked friendly.

"Are you Mrs. Caitlin Todd?", the older one of the agents asked.

"Yes, that's me. Did something happen?", she asked, getting nervous. It was never a good sign when the NCIS showed up at your doorstep, and with Matt being a Major at the Navy, Kate got a terrible gut feeling.

"Can we come in for a moment, Mrs. Todd?"

"Of course, please come in. Would you please tell me, why you are here?", Kate asked again.

"We are sorry to tell you, that your husband was participant at a traffic accident. A truck got his car frontal. I'm sorry to tell you, that your husband didn't make it to the hospital. He died on the way.", the younger agent said.

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A/N: Who is Amanda? You will learn more about her in the next chapters. And please review. 


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Sorry for the delay, but my life is kind of stressful at the moment. I writing at three other stories at the moment and I need more time writing since English isn't my mother-language. I hope you like this part.

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Part 2

Kate woke up with a start. She hadn't had this nightmare in quite some time. But she remembered it like it was yesterday. Actually it was two years ago that her husband had died. In this night she gave birth to her daughter Amanda. Amanda had been nearly two months too early. Kate was very afraid that her little girl was going to die, too. But now it was happening after all.

Matt and Kate had been married for five years, when Kate decided to go to a fertile clinic to get pregnant. Matt was infertile, but Kate wished for a child of her own. At first Matt was not happy with this, but soon he was happy about the baby, too. Amanda was the name he had picked for a girl. After she gave birth to the little girl, she was so weak and nearly didn't make it. Amanda needed to stay at the hospital her first four months. Even the doctors said, that it was a little miracle that she made it this far. Ever since that day, Amanda was everything to Kate. Kate tried to spend as much time with her daughter as she could, and it was not easy since nobody at work knew about her child. Good thing was, that her mother had moved in after Matt died, otherwise Kate didn't know how she would be able to work for Gibbs and take care of her daughter. Amanda loved her grandmother and Beth didn't mind to stay with her since her husband, Kate's father died on heart failure some years ago.

The little girl next to her was waking up. She looked up and saw her mother sitting next to her.

"Mommy, you are already home? Is it this late?", the little girl smiled. She had the hair and eyes of her mother, but nothing else. Kate looked at the girl, trying to memorize her image. Kate never saw a picture of her father at the clinic, but it was obvious that she took after him a lot.

"It's not that late, Mandy. Mommy got home earlier today. I wanted to spend some time with you.", Kate said, giving Amanda a hug.

"Great, can we go to the zoo, can we?", Amanda said, jumping out of the bed.

"Of course ca we go to the zoo, if you wish. Get ready and we are on our way. I love you, sweety.", Kate said, tears running down her cheeks.

"Mommy, why are you crying?", the little girl asked, trying to calm her mother.

"I'm just happy to have you, Mandy. And now get ready for the zoo, will you?", Kate said and went down to her mother.

"We are going to the zoo today. I couldn't tell her, mom."

"It's difficult to tell such a young girl. But you have to tell her. She needs to know, why you are taking her to the hospital tomorrow."

"I know, and I will tell her today. I just don't know how.", Kate said waiting for her daughter to come down.

"You will find a way, dear.", Beth said, hugging Kate.

Soon Kate and Amanda were at the zoo. It was one of Amanda's favorite places to be. Most she liked the ponies. She kept asking Kate about her own pony nearly every day. Kate promised herself, if Amanda was going to survive all of this, she was going to get her pony. About lunchtime, Kate and Amanda went to a snack shop to get something to eat. Then they sat down.

"It's a nice day, isn't it?", Kate asked.

"I love it, mommy. I like spending time with you."

"I like that, too. I'm sorry if I hadn't been there this much in the last few weeks. We had much work at the office, so I couldn't be with you. But believe me, I rather would have spent time with you than at the office. You are my little angel.", Kate tried to explain.

"I know, Granny said that, too. And she also said that you are doing something important, so I can live in peace. I understand when you can't spent time with me."

"Mandy, you are so mature for your age. You know my colleague Tony, don't you? I have told you about him. I don't think that he would have said something like that and he is way older than you. You are really a smart girl."

"I like being a smart girl. When I'm grown up I want to be like you, Mommy."

"You are a lot like me now, Mandy. There is something, I need to tell you Sweety. But I don't know how I'm going to tell you."

"Don't worry about me, I will understand. Do you need to go away for a few days, like you did before? I remember one day, when you had to go away, you come home earlier to spend the day with me."

"No, I don't need to go away. Actually I have a few days off. But there is a problem. You know, last week we had seen your doctor because you wasn't feeling well. Today I got a call and I now know what was wrong with you. You need to stay some days at the hospital to be threaten but I will stay with you the whole time."

"Will I die?" Amanda asked her mother.

"No Sweety, you are not going to die. Don't even think that."

"But Daddy died at the hospital. And I need to go there, too."

"Yes, your Daddy died at the hospital, but only because of the traffic accident. That's not going to happen to you. You will get something called Chemotherapy and you are not going to die. Your Mommy needs you, Mandy."

Kate didn't know how she could tell her daughter that she has cancer. Kate only hoped that everything was going to be fine like she just told her.

On the next morning, Kate, Beth and Amanda went to the hospital. Amanda got her own room there. Some minutes later her doctor was showing up.

"Hello Amanda, my name is Dr. Andrews. But you can call me Sam. How are you today?", he asked the little girl.

"I'm fine Sam. Mommy said, I need to stay here?"

"Yes, that's right. For now you are going to stay here for the next two weeks. We need to give you a Chemotherapy. This will help you to get better. To get your old strength back, so you can do many more things with your mother. You don't need to be afraid. You won't notice any of this, but it could be that you are getting ill after you got the Chemo."

"Okay, but my Mommy can stay, can she?", Amanda asked, looking up to Kate.

"Yes, your mother can stay. It's good that someone is here with you. Are you ready, Amanda?"

"I think so, Sam.", Amanda smiled back.

The doctor got everything ready for the first Chemo. Kate only hoped that it would help Amanda. Otherwise she didn't now what she could do. Amanda was given some sleeping pills, so Kate used the time to make the call she promised Gibbs.

She went in front of the hospital and took her cell out. Then she hit speed dial number one.

"Gibbs.", she heard the cranky voice of her boss.

"Gibbs, it's me Kate. I promised to call."

"Kate, good that you are calling. I need you to come in pronto. We just got another case and I need your help."

"Gibbs, I can't come in. I'm at the hospital at the moment and I will not leave it."

"Kate, please. I need you here. What can you do at the hospital anyway? I understand that you will stay there, but I really need you."

"No Gibbs, no way. I will not leave the hospital. No matter what.", Kate said angry.

"Please Kate. You don't need to stay at the HQ but I really need you. One hour, please. I don't think you do anything at the hospital at the moment, do you? Please come when you can.", Gibbs pleaded.

"Okay, I'll come but I can't promise when. I won't leave the hospital at the moment. That's where I belong for now! Why do you need me?"

"We have a little girl her. Her mother is missing and the girl is the only one who might have an idea where she is or who had taken the woman."

"So, you need me to speak with her? Can't anybody else speak with here? Tony for example; he has great interrogation skills and you know his way with females.", Kate said.

"Kate, the girl is four years old. Way to young for Tony. Actually she seems kind of afraid of any men near her. Not to mention that I even tried Abby to get her to talk. I don't think that was such a good idea. You see, I really need you."

"Okay, I see. But I can't promise you what time I will come. First I need to make sure Amanda is fine for now. See you later, Gibbs.", Kate said and closed her phone. Then she went inside again.

Her little girl was just given the first IV-Chemotherapy. The sleeping pills, the nurse had given her previous, were still working, so Amanda wouldn't have any problems at the moment. She was suppose to sleep for the next four hours.

"Caitlin, you look quite worried. Did something happen?", Beth asked.

"I just called my superior. He needs me to come in today for some hours. There is a little girl who might have witnessed the abduction of her mother. But she won't speak to any of my colleagues."

"Poor little child. You must go to the office and help her. I will stay with Amanda so long."

"I rather would like to stay with her. I promised her to stay with her at the hospital. I can't break that promise."

"But that other child needs you, too. Mandy is asleep for the moment and I think she will be for the next few hours. No need for you to sit here and worry about her. Go to work and help that little girl. Nobody will ever know that were away for a few hours."

"Thanks mom. I don't like this, but I will go. Just to keep Gibbs smooth. I don't know, when I will need to remind him about this favor I'm doing to him. See you later.", Kate said and left the room. But first she went to her daughter to give her a kiss on the forehead.

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A/N: Hope you liked this part. I'll try to update sooner but I still will need some time to figure out the next part. And sorry if I got the medical things wrong, but I'm no doctor. 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks for the reviews and sorry that I can't write like I child would speak. I'm German and I don't have much contact with English speaking children. I hope you can forgive me. Now on with the story.

See part 1 for Disclaimer.

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Part 3

Kate arrived at the HQ ten minutes later. Good thing that the hospital was close to work.

"Kate, I didn't know that you would come in today. I thought you had taken the day off?", Tony asked, when he saw Kate entering the office.

"Actually I had taken the day off, but Gibbs said I needed to come in because of a little girl. He wants me to speak with her.", Kate explained.

"Are you alright? You look like you have been crying?", Tony asked, coming over to her desk.

"I have been crying. I spend the whole day at the hospital, where Amanda gets her first Chemotherapy. She was just diagnosed with Leukemia."

"Yeah, you told us yesterday. Is it that worse? I know that Leukemia can be bad. My mother had it, too. She died when I was 14. If there is anything I can help you with, please feel free to call me. I have been through this once before."

"Thanks Tony, but at the moment I have to be strong for her. I don't know how she is going to take it. Where do I find Gibbs? I have to be back at the hospital in two hours.", Kate said.

"Gibbs is down with Abby. I can call him.", Tony offered.

"No thanks. I will just go to the lab and look for him there. See you later, Tony."

Kate went down to Abby's lab, where she found Gibbs and Abby looking at the screen, obviously searching for someone.

"Gibbs, here I am.", Kate said, entering the lab.

"Kate, you are here? You look awful.", Abby stated.

"Well, that's the way I feel. Gibbs, where is the girl? I need to go back to the hospital."

"Hello to you, too. The girl is down with Ducky. I couldn't leave her alone and Ducky was the only one without work at the moment. I will show you, where she is.", Gibbs said, going to the door. Kate followed him.

Soon then were in front of an interrogation room where Kate saw Ducky and a little girl. The girl looked frightened, but Ducky tried his best to make her laughing. Only it didn't work.

When Kate entered the room, she got a good look at the girl for the first time. All that Kate saw was the long brown hair and her brown eyes. Kate stared at her.

"Ma'am, are you alright?", the girl asked Kate.

"I'm sorry, but you look like a little girl that I know. You have the same eyes and the same hair as her.", Kate explained.

"Really? Can I meet her?"

"Perhaps later, but I can show you a picture. She is younger than you. What's your name anyway? My name is Kate and I'm working with NCIS. We are going to find your Mom, but we are going to need your help."

"My name is Francine, but I really don't like this name much."

"But Francine is a beautiful name for a beautiful girl. Do you think, you will be able to help me finding your mother?", Kate asked the girl.

"I don't know. I haven't seen much and I don't know who those men were."

"Did you get a look at the men? Do you remember, what they looked like? Perhaps something special, something you remember?"

"I don't know. They were both really big. Taller then my mother. And they were both dressed in black and they had worn masks. But mom took one of the masks away and I saw a scar on the man's face from his left eye to his mouth."

"That's something we can work with. Francine, do you have any relatives in this area? Someone you can stay with for the next few days?", Kate asked.

"When mommy is working, I usually stay with my grandma.", the girl said.

"How about we give her a call, so she can get you home? I think you have had enough for one day. Do you think you will recognize the man with the scar, if I show you a picture of him?"

"I don't know, but I could try it, couldn't I?"

"Yes, you could try. A friend of mine is going to search for this guy, so we can find you mother. And I will have someone call your grandma, so she can pick you up. Is everything alright so far?", Kate asked, knowing that this girl would be shaken up be today's events.

"I think so. Can you stay with me 'til my granny gets me?", the girl asked, looking at Kate.

"Actually, I have to go back to the hospital, but I will send in a friend. I'm sure you will get along well with him. He is much fun to have around."

"Can't you stay a bit longer? I don't want to have anyone else in her. They are kind of strange here, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. I work with them everyday." Kate smiled and so did Francine.

Kate was sure that nobody else was listening anymore. "Okay, I will stay with you 'til your grandma shows up but than I have to go back to the hospital. The little girl you remembered me off is at the hospital and I promised her to stay with her. You know, she is very ill."

"Oh, that's terrible. Perhaps I can visit her, when she is feeling better.", Francine said.

"I would really like that. And I'm sure, Amanda would like you really much. You are a lot alike. She is a smart little girl, just like you."

Kate spent the next twenty minutes in the interrogation room with Francine waiting for any relative of her to pick her up. But Kate's thoughts were with her daughter. Finally the grandmother showed up to take Francine home. Kate left the interrogation room to go back to the hospital. But she met Gibbs on her way out.

"Kate, you did great with the little girl. Abby runs the details on the computer and hopefully we will have a result anytime soon. I have to thank you. I don't know what I would have done without you. The girl just wouldn't speak with anyone else. I owe you one."

"Well, just make sure that I can spent the next few weeks at home. I really don't know when I will be able to work again. Amanda needs me at the moment more than anyone else. If this should be a problem, I can hand in my resignation. But now I really must go.", Kate said and left without turning back.

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Did you like this part? More to come soon. 


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: First of all, thanks for the reviews.

Just to make some things clear. The team does know that Amanda is very ill, but they don't know that she is Kate's three year old daughter. But in later chapters they will find out. Now on with the story.

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Part 4

Kate arrived at the hospital fifteen minutes later. Amanda was still asleep and Beth was sitting next to her bed.

"Kate, you are already back? I assumed you would be away much longer.", Beth said, when Kate entered the room.

"There wasn't much I could do. I only spoke to the little girl. She looked a lot like Mandy. She wanted to see her. I told her, that she is at the hospital but that she can visit her sometime later. I think Mandy would like her. How is she?", Kate asked, sitting down on her bed.

"She's still out. The doctor said it would be better that way. They don't know, how she would react on the IV. Everything else seems just fine. A nurse took some of her blood for some tests."

"Thanks Mom. Why don't you go home now? There is no need for both of us to stay. I will stay a bit longer and you can come back in the morning, okay?", Kate said.

"Okay, but don't stay too long. You are exhausted and you need some sleep yourself. When was the last time you had something to eat?"

"I'm not that hungry, mother."

"But you won't do Mandy any good if you starve yourself. Amanda needs you now and you need to eat from time to time. Just a little bit for your daughter."

"Okay, I will get something to eat later. I promise you mother."

Beth knew, that Kate wouldn't get anything to eat so she went down to the cafeteria herself. There she got her a sandwich and an apple which she took upstairs to her daughter.

Kate spent most of the afternoon and the early evening at Amanda's hospital room. The little girl was still sleeping and the IV was still running. Kate just sat there and watched her little angel. She looked so peaceful and not a bit ill. Sure she was a bit pale but otherwise you couldn't tell that she had cancer. Kate still couldn't believe it. It seemed so unreal. After Matt's death Amanda was everything left from her married life. Nobody at work knew that she was widowed. Nobody had asked and it was still to early to talk about the death of her husband. Sitting there, Kate thought about her life with Matt.

They had been so happy. Kate had her job with the Secret Service, where she was more than happy. One couldn't have more responsibility as watching the PotUS. And Matt was happy with his job, too. He loved being with the Navy; his father and grandfather had been with Navy, too.

Matt and Kate had met during one of her jobs for the President. Kate was making sure that the President was save on some charity party for the Navy. Matt was one of the guests. Since both of them were nearly the only ones without company, they soon started to talk. And as the night moved on, the both of them were dancing and finally Matt walked Kate home. On the next night they went out on a date. They really liked each other from the start. A year later, Matt proposed to Kate and she accepted the offer. Short time later they married. Since then Kate wished for a child. Having four older brothers, she always wanted a big family of her own. After three years without getting pregnant, both Kate and Matt took some tests. Matt's tests showed that he was infertile. Matt was kind of disappointed, just like Kate. Another year later, Kate longed for a baby. So she just got an appointment with a fertile clinic to get pregnant.

When she found out, that she was indeed pregnant, she was put on desk work. Kate was okay with that, as long as her baby was save. She was really happy about being pregnant and soon was Matt, too. They did everything together, from decorating the room, going baby-shopping, doctor visits and looking for a name.

After Amanda was born and finally released from the hospital, Kate stayed at home the first year. She wanted to spend as much time with her daughter as she could. But after one year at home, she had to return to work. At her first big case there was an assault on the Presidents life. Gibbs and Tony were investigating this one.

Kate wasn't happy at her current job, so she just handed in her resignation. Somehow Gibbs had know about this fact and offered her a job. Kate took this opportunity. For this she had had different reasons. First of all, she knew what Gibbs and Tony were usually working on; solving deaths of Navy members. Since she knew only to well how you were feeling when the NCIS agents shows up at your doorsteps to tell you someone you loved was death, she knew that it was very important for the family to know the real reason for the death. Kate would do everything to help solving those puzzles.

Another reason was Tony. Since the first time she had met him, she liked him. Of course, she didn't show it. But there was something between the two of them, something she couldn't put a finger on. But she couldn't imagine being without him. She really liked being near him. He was a good friend, even he was always annoying her. But he was fun to be around. He made her laugh, something she hardly did since Matt's death.

It was getting dark outside, when Amanda was slowly waking up. Kate was still next to her.

"Hi sleepyhead.", Kate said, kissing her on the forehead.

"Mommy, you are here.", Amanda smiled.

"Of course, I'm here. I promised you. How are you feeling, darling?"

"Still tired."

"You slept about 14 hours and you are still tired? I think that's the medicaments the doctor had given you. I will get a nurse for you.", Kate said and left the room. Some minutes later she came back with a nurse and Dr. Andrews.

"Hi Amanda, how are you feeling?", Dr. Andrews asked.

"Tired and a bit nauseous. I want to sleep.", Amanda said.

"That's normal, sweety. And you can go back to sleep. I need to talk to your mom for a few minutes. We will be just outside the door. Will you be okay?"

Amanda nodded and snuggled back in her bed. Kate followed Dr. Andrews out of the room.

"So, what's the matter, Doc?", Kate asked.

"Before we started the IV, we run some tests, which are back now. It doesn't look good for her. Her white blood cells are very low. I can't promise that the Chemo will do much good for her. I think we need to think about something else."

"What else is there to think off? Isn't Chemo the only way to destroy the cancer?", Kate asked.

"We need to continue the Chemo, but I think we need to take stronger doses. Then the chance to get her into remission will be better. But it will also affect her immune defense system. The risk for her do get ill will be greater that for everybody else."

"Okay, this means you can destroy the cancer by higher doses, but then she could die on a cold?", Kate said.

"Technically yes, but there are way to stronger her immune defense system. We would need to do a bone marrow transfusion."

"Bone marrow transfusion?", Kate asked.

"Yes, that would help Amanda to restore her immune system. We would take some bone marrow from a donor. Most times it's a near family member, like father, mother of any siblings. But sometimes the family doesn't fit and we need to find a donor from an international database. We would need to test you and your husband. Does Amanda have any siblings? Then we would need to test them, too."

"No, Amanda doesn't have any siblings. And there is a problem with my husband. He died the day, Amanda was born. And actually he wasn't her father."

"Oh, I'm sorry. But I suppose that you know her father, not that this is one of my business. But it could help her."

"Okay, I will see, what I can do. I don't have any contact to her father anymore."; Kate said, not wanting to reveille her secret about Amanda. "When would you need to test me?"

"As soon as possible I think. I need to continue the first treatment and after that, we will see what good it did to Amanda. There is still the possibility that the Chemo is efficient. I just wanted to make sure you are prepared for everything."

"Okay, how is this going to happen?", Kate asked.

"Well, you would need to stay at the hospital for a few days. You will get local anesthesia in your upper back. Then we would take some bone marrow with a syringe. You will be sore for a few days, that's the reason you are staying at the hospital for at least one night. The sample will be tested and we will have the results within a week. It's nothing life threatening, but it could save the life of your daughter.", Dr. Andrews explained.

"Okay, I stay at the hospital most of the time anyway. Just come to me, when your schedule is free. You know, where you can find me."

"I will come to you in the next few days. Now I need to check on Amanda. I think the first dose is finished and I need to hook up another one.", he said and reentered Amanda's room.

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A/N: Did you like that part? Please review. More to come soon. 


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you still like that story. Please tell me what you think about it. Now Tony comes into the picture. The team still doesn't know that Amanda is Kate's daughter.**

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Part 5**

Kate wanted to stay overnight, but was thrown out by the nurse. So Kate went to her car to go home. But she wasn't feeling like going home. She just got into her car and went for a drive. When she stopped, she recognized, that she was in front of the NCIS headquarters. She didn't know why she was here, but she thought that she could finish off some paperwork she left behind. She went inside and to her desk. She was surprised to see one light still turned on. And this time it was not Gibbs who didn't go home, but Tony.

He was deep in thought and didn't hear Kate coming in. He was doing something on his computer.

"No date tonight? Usually you are the first one to leave the office at a Friday night.", Kate said stopping in front of his desk.

"Kate, what are you doing here?"

"I really don't know, Tony. What about you? No date?"

"No, no date tonight. I wasn't feeling like going out. You're already missing the office?", Tony asked grinning.

"I don't know. The nurse threw me out of the hospital and I didn't want to go home. I just want for a drive and suddenly I was in front of the HQ. I just thought that I could finish some paperwork.", Kate said, shrugging her shoulders.

"You really think that is a good idea? Your thoughts are everywhere, but with work. That would piss off Gibbs extremely."

"I think you are right. But I don't know where else to go.", Kate said. She was feeling that she was slowly breaking down.

"When was the last time you had something to eat, Kate?", Tony asked.

"I don't know. I had a sandwich at the hospital."

"Well, that's not much, but better than nothing. What about some late dinner? I think you could use a change of your surroundings."

"I sure could use that, but I don't feeling like going out, either."

"Don't worry about this. I will take care of this. Do you need a lift of do you want to follow me with your car?"

"I think, I will follow you in my car. Where do we go anyway?", Kate asked.

"You will see, when we get there. Let's go, Kate.", Tony said and turned the lamp out. Soon they were at the cars. Kate followed Tony's car and was surprised, when he stopped in front of a two story house in Georgetown. No lights were on in there. Tony got out and went to Kate's car.

"Here we are.", he said, opening her door.

"And were would that be? I don't think we will get anything to eat in there."

"You will be surprised. I promise you the best Italian dinner you ever had. I hope you like Italian food.", Tony said.

"Yes, I like that.", Kate said following Tony. When he arrived at the front door he took out a key and opened the door.

"Welcome to case DiNozzo.", Tony said grinning. The house was Tony's home. Kate had never been here before and it was different from what she had imagined him to live in.

"I didn't know, that you have your own house. I supposed that you were living in a nice apartment house."

"Believe me, I lived there for some months. But I didn't like it there much. This is the house of my family. Here I grow up. When my mother died, my father tried to raise me and both of my younger sisters. He wasn't that successful. Soon I took over that part. Isabella and Jennifer are grown up now and they are both at the college at the moment. My father moved back to Italy some years ago where he remarried five years ago. He is happy again. After he left, I moved into the house. At first the twins were living with me but a few months later, they moved out. It's a lonely place those days. I really miss them.", Tony explained.

"I didn't know that you have any siblings.", Kate said stunned.

"There is a lot about me, you don't know. And there is a lot about you, I don't know, too. I would like to know more about you, Kate. We are friends, you can trust me."

"I know Tony and someday I will tell you more about me. So, what about the best Italian dinner you promised me?", Kate said, changing the topic.

"What about Spaghetti Napoli?", Tony asked.

"Sounds delicious. I didn't know that I was that hungry.", Kate said when her stomach rumbled.

"Then it will be Spaghetti Napoli. Do you want anything to drink? Some wine, perhaps?"

"No, no wine. I have to drive home later. But a glass of water would be nice."

Tony went into the kitchen. Kate followed him. The kitchen was great. This was some place, Kate would like to cook for her family. Actually everything she had seen of the house so far was very nice.

"Tony, this house is great. I really don't know why you spent so much time at work and with your dates, when you have such a comfy home. Or do you take your dates home with you?"

"No, you are the first person I take home with. I love this house but I don't like being home alone. This house needs a family, children, who laugh, a dog running around, a wife and husband in love. That's what it is designed for."

"So you have to marry and start a family of your own. Then the house will have a family again.", Kate said but didn't like the idea very much. Kate hated the thought of Tony being married.

"Well, someday in the future I will marry. But my wife has to be something special. Someone I truly love."

"That's the reason you date so much? Still on search for miss perfect?", Kate asked sarcastically.

"Kate, I wasn't on many dates the last few months and I think I have found my Miss Perfect. I'm just not ready to tell her. I don't know what she is feeling for me."

"That's good Tony. I'm happy for you. Everybody needs somebody to come home."

"And what about you? Do you want to marry someday?"

"I'm already married.", Kate said without thinking. 'Did I already say that?', she wondered.

"**You are what, Kate**?", Tony asked shocked. Now Kate was sure that she really said it.

"I said, that I'm already married. Actually I'm widowed since two years.", Kate said, trying to hide her tears.

"I'm sorry Kate. I didn't know.", Tony said, giving Kate a hug.

"Nobody at NCIS knows. Not even Gibbs. You are the first one I tell about Matt. Please, don't tell anyone. I'm not ready to tell about him."

"Okay, I won't tell anyone about this. But if you need someone to talk, feel free to come to me. I promise you, I can keep a secret."

"Thanks Tony, perhaps I will come back to your offer. Matt was everything to me. My first great love. He worked for the Navy. Air Force One wasn't the first time, I had contact with NCIS."

"They came to you to tell you that your husband was dead, didn't they?"

Kate only nodded.

"That's the reason why you are so great with the families. You know how they feel at this moment. How long had you been married?"

"For five years. We got married one and a half year after we met. Did you know, that the President got us together in some way?" Kate smiled at this thought.

"No, I didn't know.", Tony said preparing dinner.

"The President was on a charity dinner of the Navy. I was there to make sure he was save. Matt was there, too. And since we were the only ones without company, we danced together a few times. On the next day we went out on dinner. I think it was love on the first sight."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. So, that was your reason to accept Gibbs offer. To help the families with the death?"

"This was one of my reasons. Actually I wasn't happy with my job at the Secret Service anymore. That's the reason I handed in my resignation. But there was another reason."

"And that would be?", Tony asked.

"Oh, I'm not going to tell you, Tony. Not at the moment."

"Okay, then I must wait. Perhaps you are going to tell me tomorrow?", Tony smiled.

"I don't think I will see you tomorrow. I will be at the hospital most of the time."

"How is Amanda anyway?"

"Tired and nauseous. The doctor said, that she probably will need a bone marrow transplantation."

"My mother was diagnosed to late with Leukemia. There wasn't much the doctor could do. She died half a year later."

"Tell me about your family. You said you have two younger sisters, didn't you?"

"Yes, I have. Izzy and Jenny, they are everything to me. They are ten years younger than me."

"They were four when your mother died?"

"Yeah, it was difficult for them to understand. My father was hurt. I was hurt, too. But how are you going to tell four year old girls that their mother is dead? Dad couldn't take care off them, so I looked after them. In the morning I was the first to get up and then I made breakfast for the twins. After that I took them to kindergarten and later to school. After school I took them home, cooked and helped them with homework. I really feel like their father from time to time. I really miss them."

"That I can imagine. Do you see them often?"

"Unfortunately not. Jennifer is studying in California and Isabella is studying in Las Vegas. Hey, don't look like that. It wasn't my idea and I'm not very happy about this. But I trust her."

"What are they studying? I'm sure they will be just like their big brother.", Kate smiled.

"Izzy is going to be a Crime Scene Investigator. That's the reason she is in Vegas. There is the best lab in the US. She hopes to get a job there. Jenny isn't sure what she will become. Doctor or teacher, but she wants to work with children. She really loves children. I think, she is the only one of us who really has plans for a big family. You know, Italian style.", Tony smiled while putting the pasta on the plates.

"What about your father? Do you see him anymore?", Kate asked sitting down on the kitchen table.

"From time to time. But since he moved back to Europe I have seen him only once or twice. I would really love to spend some time in Italy. I never have met my stepmother and my baby brother. He will be six now. And since three months I have another baby sister.

"Then why don't you fly over there and pay them a visit? I think your father would be happy."

"Kate, you know our work. Since I work for Gibbs I hardly had some time off. I'm really surprised that he didn't say anything to you. That are some points working with Gibbs. You never get some days off."

"I would have taken off anyway. I told him that I would resign if necessary. And I meant every single word. Of course I would miss you and working with you, but Amanda is more important to me."

"Gibbs understands, I think. He won't lose you since he knows that you are the best profiler we ever got. And Amanda will be fine soon and you can come back to work again. You know, it's terrible boring without you; nobody to annoy."

"But you still have McGee."

"But this isn't the same. I really missed you today. You see, you have to come to work soon or I'm going insane."

"Can't let this happen.", Kate smiled. "I will try to visit you from time to time. But most of my time I will spend at the hospital."

"I know and I understand. How about dinner next Friday? Same place, perhaps an hour earlier?"

"I will see, what I can do. I'm going to call you, okay? But now, I have to go Tony.", Kate said and got up.

"Yeah, it's kind of late. I really enjoyed this evening.", Tony said, leaning forward to kiss Kate on the cheek. Just in this moment Kate turned her head and Tony's lips met her own lips. Kate liked the feeling of his lips on her and soon she deepened the kiss.

Tony was kind of surprise, when Kate kissed him back. This wasn't like planned, but he didn't complain. Actually this was better than he had imagined all those times. Finally they broke apart.

"I'm sorry, Kate.", Tony said breathless.

"Don't be. I really liked your kiss.", Kate said smiling.

"Good to hear, but I don't think now is the perfect moment for you to become emotional involved with a colleague. You have other, more important things on your mind.", Tony said.

"Yeah, this I do. But nevertheless, I enjoyed the kiss. You are a good friend and I really like being around you. And I would love to have dinner with you next week."

"I would love that, too. Just call me. I'll be waiting for you. And I hope that Amanda is soon feeling better."

"Thanks Tony. But now, I have really to go."

TBC...

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**A/N: Did you like it? Please review and tell me what you think.**


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Here comes the next part with many Tate-moments. Hope you like it.

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The next week, Kate spent most time at the hospital. Amanda was still being threatened with Chemotherapy. And she was feeling more ill from day to day. Kate couldn't do anything to help her little girl. All she could do was sitting there and trying to make her comfortable.

On Wednesday Kate was giving a sample of her bone marrow. The next two days she stayed at the same room as Amanda. Dr. Andrews had insisted on it.

On some days she had called Tony, just to hear his voice. Neither of them had said anything about the kiss. Kate was not sure what this kiss had meant to him. Was it just pity, some way to ease her worries? Or was it because he really wanted to kiss her, because he felt something for her? But Kate was sure, that this wasn't the reason. After all Tony had told her, that he had found a woman he was in love with. Question was why he kissed her? That was something Kate thought about while she was stuck to this hospital bed.

Gibbs didn't call her again, to ask her to come to work and Kate was relieved. At the moment she wasn't able to work, no matter what.

Kate spent Friday morning and noon at the hospital. But sometime Beth showed up so Kate could go home to rest. She was still sore from the bone marrow aspiration. But Kate wasn't feeling like going home. She remembered Tony's invitation from last week and took out her cell.

"DiNozzo speaking."; she heard his voice.

"Hi Tony, it's Kate. Your offer for dinner tonight still stands?", she asked.

"Sure, like I said, I really liked having you at my home. When will you be free?", he asked happy.

"I think I can leave the hospital in a few minutes. What about you? When will Gibbs let you go home?"

"I really don't know. Do you remember the way to my house?", Tony asked.

"I think, I do remember it. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you go there. You will find a key in the pot on your left, the one with the bamboo in it. Just let yourself in and make yourself comfortable. I will be there as soon as I can."

"Tony, I can't. That's your home. I just can't go in there."

"Sure you can. I want you to feel at home. I will be with you soon. See you later.", Tony said and closed the phone.

Kate went to look for Dr. Andrews. She found him at the nurse station.

"Dr. Andrews? Do you have a minute?", she asked.

"Miss Todd, what do you need? Something wrong with your daughter?", he asked.

"I just wondered if you already had the results."

"No, I don't have them. They should be here anytime soon. Probably sometime this evening."

"Please call me as soon as you got them. It's really important for me. But I won't be at home for some hours. Please feel free to call me on my cell phone.", Kate said and handed him a slip of paper with her number on it.

"Okay, I promise to give you a call. Have a nice evening, Miss Todd.", Dr. Andrews said and left.

Kate went to Tony's house. It felt strange to be there without him. But now she had the chance to take a look. The last time she had only seen his living room and the kitchen.

Kate went to look around the house. In the basement she found a workout room and a swimming pool. There were some other rooms like a storage room and a laundry room. In the first floor were two bed rooms and two bath rooms. There was also a study with bookshelves on each wall. On the stairway were many family pictures. Some of them showed a young Tony with two young girls. Kate assumed that those girls must be his sisters.

The second floor held four more bedrooms with two bathrooms.

Kate liked the house very much. Pity that there was no big family to live in, Kate thought.

Kate went back to the living room, where she sat down on the sofa. On her way there she turned on the CD-Player. Sitting down on the sofa and listening to the music, Kate soon dozed off.

When Kate woke up, there was someone else in the house. She heard noise in the kitchen. Carefully not to make any noise herself, she got up and took her gun out of her purse. Then she went into the kitchen. She was relieved to see Tony there.

"I didn't hear you come in, Tony.", she said, putting her gun away.

"You were out like a light. I tried to wake you, but then I thought it would be better to let you sleep a little bit longer. You seemed to need it."

"I didn't realize that I was that tired. How long are you here anyway?", Kate asked.

"About an hour, I think. I started to make dinner. I hope you are hungry."

"You bet. All I had this week was hospital food, if I had anything for this matter."

"Yeah, I can tell, that you hadn't had much to eat this week. You lost some weight."

Kate was impressed. She hadn't noticed so far. "Then we have to do something against it.", Kate smiled.

"Oh, I really plan on it. How is Amanda by the way?", Tony asked, really interested.

"Not much better than last week. She puts on a brave face but I know, that she is really afraid. I'm afraid, too."

"You seem really close, don't you?", Tony asked stirring something in a pot.

"Yes, we are. Besides my mother she is everything to me. I would give my life for her."

"I would to this for my sisters, too.", Tony didn't know who Amanda was and so he assumed that she was her sister. He didn't know much about her family.

Tony and Kate sat down on the table. Kate winced when she sat down.

"Kate, what's the matter with you? Are you in pain?", he asked concerned.

"Everything is fine. I'm just a bit sore from Wednesday. I had my bone marrow tested."

"Oh, do you have the results?", Tony asked.

"No, but the doctor promised to call. He said they would arrive tonight.", Kate explained.

After the meal, Kate helped Tony cleaning the kitchen. Then her cell rang. The caller ID told her that it was the hospital, which she mouthed to Tony.

"Hello Dr. Andrews.", Kate said.

"Miss Todd, the test results just came in. I'm sorry to tell you, but you don't fit. Did you get hold of Amanda's father? He could be a better fit. Otherwise we have to try the database."

"No, I haven't got hold of him. But I will try my best. Thank you Dr. Andrews.", Kate said.

When she went back to Tony she was sobbing. Tears were running down her cheeks.

"Kate, what happened?", Tony asked, coming over to her and hugging her.

"Dr. Andrews just called. He is threatening Amanda and he was the one who did the bone marrow aspiration. The test results come back and I don't fit. I can't help her, Tony. I just can't help her."

"Katie, calm down. I'm sure, there are other ways to help her. You did so much for Amanda those last few days. And I'm sure, she will make it."

"It's just so terrible. I can't let her die. If she dies, I won't life anymore."

"Katie, please stop. Amanda is not going to die. Do you hear me? She is not going to die and you won't die either. There are so many persons who need you."

"But that's not the same."

"Kate, I promise you everything will be fine. Amanda will be healthy and you will not leave me. I need you, too.", Tony said trying to calm Kate. But she was still crying and Tony still held her. He needed her as much as she needed him at the moment.

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A/N: Did you like it? I promise everything will turn out fine. Stay tuned for the next part. Please review and tell me what you think. 


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hi guys. I was on holiday without internet access.. Thanks for all the reviews. Good to see that you like that story. A lot of Tate is coming in this one. Hope you like it, too. 

See part 1 for Disclaimer.

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Part 7**

The next week Kate spent looking for Amanda's father. This wasn't an easy task when you didn't know who he was. Kate went to the clinic where she got pregnant.

"Hello, my name is Caitlin Todd. I need to speak to the head of the clinic.", Kate said to the woman at the front desk.

"Do you have an appointment, Miss Todd?", she asked back.

"No, I don't have an appointment. But I really need to speak to her. Two years ago I had an artificially insemination here. My daughter was just diagnosed with Leukemia and now I need to find her father."

"I'm sorry about you daughter, Miss Todd. I will see if someone is available for you.", the woman said and made some phone calls.

A few minutes later a female doctor came to Kate. "Are you Caitlin Todd?", the woman asked.

"Yes, that's me. Can you help me?", Kate asked.

"Why don't we go into my office? There we can talk about your problem." Kate followed the woman to a small office where lots of baby pictures hung.

"By the way, my name is Dr. Mitchell. So, you need to find your sperm donator?"

"Yes, I do. My daughter was just diagnosed with Leukemia. My bone marrow doesn't fit and all my hope is with her father."

"That's a difficult situation for me. Normally, we are not allowed to give away the names of the donators. You know, most of the men have families of there own now. They won't know if they have any other children. It could put them into a difficult situation at home."

"I know, but you have to understand my point of view, too. I have to help my baby. Please help me."

"I understand you completely well. You are not the first person who wants to have a name. Normally the children comes looking for their biological parents. Okay, I will pull out the file."

Dr. Mitchell did something on her computer and left the room. A few minutes later she came back with a manila file in her hand.

"Okay, here is your file. In there you will find everything considering your sperm donator. You can take the name and the address, but there is no guarantee that he will still live there.", she said sitting down on her desk. She handed Kate the file.

There she found all the paperwork she did all those years ago. Then she found a paper her sperm donator had filled out. She looked at the paper. Somehow she knew the handwriting, but she couldn't put a name to it. Until she looked at the name of the donator. She looked at it and memorized it.

"Do you need a paper to write the name and the address down?", Dr. Mitchell asked.

"No thanks. I have memorized the name. Thank you very much.", Kate said and left the room. What she just read was kind of shocking for her. But she was certain, that she would be able to find Amanda's father. She wouldn't like it, but she had to help her little angel.

Kate went to her house where she sat down on the sofa. She hadn't seen her mother the whole weekend.

"Caitlin, sweety, you are already back?", Beth asked.

"Yes, I had to find out the name of Amanda's father. I got the results back from my bone marrow. I don't fit."

"Oh Katie, I'm so sorry. But I'm sure, Amanda will get well."

"I know. My last chance is her father." Beth did now, that Matt wasn't Amanda's biological father.

"And did you get his address?"

"I got his name and his old address, but I'm sure he moved in the meantime.", Kate said.

"But you are going to find him?"

"Yes, I will find him. I'm not sure I can accept the consequences of this, but I have to make sure that Amanda gets well. My own feelings are not important.", Kate said cryptically.

Beth didn't know what Kate was speaking about and she didn't ask any further questions.

"Mom, can you stay with Mandy tonight? I have some important things to take care off. I won't be at home probably. And I don't know, when I will be at home either."

"Of course can I stay with Amanda. You need time for yourself, Caitlin.", Beth said, hugging Kate. She felt that her daughter was fighting an inner battle she didn't know anything about. But Beth was sure everything would be fine at the end.

Kate went for a drive. She didn't know what she should do. Now she knew the name of Amanda's father, but that didn't help her much. There was to much at stake to reveille her secret.

Again Kate stopped in front of the NCIS headquarters. She needed someone to hold her, someone she could trust. Someone who understood what she was feeling at the moment. And that one was Tony.

Kate went inside. Gibbs was surprised to see her at the office.

"Kate, what are you doing here? Are you going to come back to work?", he asked her.

"No, I can't come back at the moment. Amanda is still at the hospital and she isn't doing this well. I probably will stay out of work a few weeks longer. I just need something from Tony."

"He's down with Abby. Feel free to go there. I'm sure he will be happy to see you.", Gibbs said, drinking his coffee.

Kate went down to the lab, where Abby and Tony were watching something on the screen. When the doors opened both turned around to see the visitor.

"Kate, you are back?", Abby shouted and ran over to Kate.

"No, I'm not back. I just need to speak to Tony."

"What's the matter, Katie?", he asked, going over to where she stood, too.

"Can we go outside, perhaps have some lunch?"

"Abby, can we finish this later?", Tony asked.

"Okay, just make sure Kate is feeling better later. Everything will be okay, Kate.", Abby said, giving Kate a hug.

Tony and Kate went to a local pub to have some lunch.

"Now tell me, what the matter is. I never have seen you like this. Did something happen to Amanda?"

"No, Amanda is as good as she can be. This time it's something personal. I really need to talk to you about something important. This isn't probably the best place but I can't wait any longer."

"I think this place is just fine. What do you need to tell me, Katie?"

"When you asked me about my reasons to join Gibbs' team, I told you there was another reason. That reason was you. In the last few days you have helped me a lot. I didn't know if I could have done it without you."

"But I haven't done anything.", Tony said.

"Of course you have. You were there for me. You cheered me up when I was down. You cooked for me. You gave me a shoulder to lean on. You were a good friend. But you are not only a good friend for me. I know, you told me, that you were in love with someone and what I'm going to tell you will probably affect you but I don't want you to do something stupid. If you really love this woman, don't even think about what I'm going to tell you."

"Katie, you don't make any sense."

"Sorry, Tony. I just don't know if I'm doing the right thing. Like I told you before, I had several reasons to join your team. One reason was my need to help those families. Another reason why I joined NCIS was you. Since the first time I saw you on Air Force One I was in love with you. You were the first one who could make me feel alive after Matt's death. You were the first one who made me laugh again. When I found out that Amanda had Leukemia there was no question for me, that I would stay with her at the hospital. For this I would have resigned. There was nothing that could hold me there, but you. You were the only thing I was going to miss terrible. Of course I would have missed Abby, McGee, Ducky and Gibbs, too. But not like the way I would have missed you. Tony, I love you!."

After this heartbreaking confession Kate began to cry. She didn't know how Tony would react.

"Katie, please don't cry. I can't see you crying.", Tony said gently. After some minutes Kate stopped crying and she was still waiting for Tony to say something.

"Please say something, Tony. I know that was not something you imagined I would tell you. I won't force you to anything. I just needed to tell you about my feelings. So much had happened in the last couple of days I just want to tell you what I feel. I hope I won't affect your relationship with your new girlfriend.", Kate said.

"Wow, that's something I never thought I would hear from you. Kate Todd is in love with me."

"Tony, please. That's nothing to make jokes about."

"Okay, but that wasn't a joke. I think I have one or two things I need to explain to you, too. First of all, there isn't a relationship with any woman at the moment. Actually I hadn't had any serious relationships in the last year. Yes, I told you that I'm in love with someone and your confession will have a big affect on this, since now I know how this woman feels for me. The woman I'm in love with is you. I have been in love with you since Air Force One. But I couldn't react on my feelings, partly because of Gibbs and partly because of you. I don't know, but you were one of the fewer women who didn't react on my flirting. And you always seemed so cold, but now I know the reason. You were still mourning your husband. Caitlin Todd, I love you.", Tony smiled, giving Kate a kiss.

The rest of the day Kate spent at the hospital with Amanda. She wasn't feeling well and as fas as the doctor could tell, the Chemo wasn't doing any good. When visiting hour was over, Kate went back to the office to get Tony. Together they went to his house, where Kate spent the night. It was the first time in a very long time that she was really feeling alive.

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A/N: Did you like this part? Please review and tell me what you think. 


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, but I don't have much time to write at the moment. But I WILL finish that story and update as soon as I have some free minutes. Hope there is still someone out there who will read that story. **

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The next few weeks had the same schedule. Kate would spent the day with Amanda at the hospital. She would read to her daughter and play games with her if she was up to it. The night she would spent with Tony. He was really sweet and caring. Sometimes she would visit the office. Of course every time she got there, they would asked when she would return, but Kate never answered that question since she didn't know the answer to that one.

The first treatment of Amanda was nearly coming to an end. On Friday Dr. Andrews called Kate into his office.

"How is she really, Doctor?", Kate asked.

"Considering everything she is through, she is doing well. But the first Chemotherapy didn't do any good at all. The effects weren't like planned. So I suggest we try a higher dose the next time and do the bone marrow transplantation afterwards."

"Okay, but there is still the problem with the donator. Remember, I don't fit."

"Yes, that's quite a problem. I run the database and unfortunately it doesn't look this well either. Did you find Amanda's father by the way?"

"Yes, I have found him but I haven't had the heart to tell him. He doesn't know, that he has a daughter.", Kate said.

"I can imagine that this is a difficult situation for you, but if you want to help your daughter, you have to talk to her father. He will understand."

"I sure hope he does. I'll talk to him and tell you next week when I get Amanda home."

Kate went to Tony's house and let herself in. She hadn't called Tony previous and she just hoped that he would be okay with that. Since they had come clean about their feelings, Kate had spent a great amount of time at Tony's home. Tony even gave her an own set of keys to his house. On her way to Tony's house she went shopping. Tonight she would cook something for him; kind of surprise for him. She just hoped Gibbs wouldn't have an urgent case to work on, so Tony could leave the office in time.

Kate went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Then she set the table and waited for Tony to come home.

When Tony got home from work, he saw Kate's car parked in front of his house. Usually she would come later in the evening when the visiting hours at the hospital were over. Not that it mattered to Tony, that Kate was there earlier. On the contrary, he liked having her around him. Actually he planned on asking her to move in with him sometime soon.

"Katie, I'm home.", he called when he opened the door. He was greeted by a delicious smell of dinner.

"What do I owe this honor?", Tony asked entering the kitchen, where Kate was busy.

"I just wanted this to be a special evening for the both of us. There was something I have to talk to you.", Kate said, still not wanting to speak about this topic.

"Sounds important.", Tony said, giving Kate a kiss.

"It is very important. Why don't you sit down? Dinner will be ready any minute."

Tony went over to the table and lit the candles. Short time later Kate came with the dinner. It looked and tasted delicious.

"So, what do you need to speak with me about?", Tony asked.

"There are quite some topics, most of them concerning Amanda."

"You know, you can always talk to me about Amanda. You don't need to cook dinner for me because of this. But I have to admit I really like it. Before you start I have something I have to ask you. Kate, you spend a lot of time here at my house. I really like having you around and I would like to ask you if you want to move in with me. The last couple of weeks you practically lived here anyway."

"Tony, I really would love living here with you. This is a great house and you are a great guy. I really love you, please don't ever forget that. But what I'm going to tell you tonight is probably going to affect our relationship. I won't make any decision at the moment. Please try to understand my point of few. I have to think about Amanda."

"Okay, I understand that you are worried about Amanda, but she can't be the center of your life. I know it's hard and I really find it good that you are taking care of her, but you have to think about your own life from time to time. You won't do anyone anything good with the way you are at the moment."

"Please, Tony stop. Let me explain and you will understand why my life is centered on Amanda. You never asked who Amanda is, didn't you?"

"No, I never asked. I just assumed that she is a friend of yours of your sister."; Tony said.

Kate took a picture out of her purse and smiled when she saw it. "Mandy just turned two this year, Tony. She is my daughter.", Kate said, showing Tony the photo of a little girl. He had to admit, that she looked a lot like her mother with the same hair and eye color.

"You have a daughter?"

"Yes, I have. She was born the day my husband died. She was nearly two months to early. The hospital said it was a miracle that she survived. Do you now understand why she is so important to me? Why my life is centered on her?"

"Of course I understand. She is your daughter. It's just naturally that you only want her best and that you want to spend as much time as possible with her. But why did you never told us about her? I suppose nobody at the office knew about her?"

"No, you are the only one. And I would like to leave it that way.. When the time is right, I will tell Gibbs about her, but not now. I don't know, why I never told you about her. I never come up."

"You are a woman with secrets, Caitlin Todd. But there are still some things I want to know about Amanda. Where is she, when you work? You don't see her much with our working schedule, do you?"

"No, I don't see her much. She stays with my mother, who moved in with me, when Matt died. My father passed away some years ago and she was lonely since then. It was just perfect. The first year I stayed at home, trying to spend as much time as possible with my baby. And even now I try very hard to see her. It's not easy but I can't change it. She is such a good girl. Really smart for her age."

"That I can imagine, after all she is your daughter.", Tony said smiling.

"I think, she got that from her father, too."

"Well, that I can't answer. I really would like to meet her one day.", Tony said.

"I promise you, that you will meet her soon. She is going to leave the hospital on Monday. I need to stay with her and I won't probably see you that much."

"I understand completely. Your little angel needs you."

"Thanks Tony, but that wasn't all I need to tell you.", Kate said looking into his eyes.

"More secrets? What could there be more? You were married, we didn't know off! You have a daughter, we didn't know off! What now? Are you working for Fornell, trying to infiltrate us? Not that I would believe that."

"Thanks Tony, you are not going to make this easy for me, are you? No, I don't work for Fornell. It's more details about Amanda."

"Go ahead. I want to know everything about your girl."

"Today I had a chat with Dr. Andrews. He is the one who treats Amanda. He told me, that the first Chemo wasn't as efficient as thought. He wants to try a higher doses next time and the bone marrow transplantation afterwards. I told you, that I don't fit. He ran the database but came up empty, too. There is only one person left who could be a match. Her father."

"Her father? But your husband is dead!", Tony said.

"Yes, my husband is dead, but Amanda's father is still alive."

"You mean, Matt wasn't her father? You _cheated _on him?"

"I _didn't_ cheat on him! Matt know that he wasn't her father. He was infertile so I went to a clinic to get pregnant."

"I'm sorry Kate."

"Don't be. After all, I got my girl, didn't I?"

"Did you find her father?"

"Yes, I got a name and an address, but he doesn't live there anymore."

"Do you need any help to find him? You know, I have still some friends with the police who owe me one. I can ask them to help you."

"Thanks Tony, but that won't be necessary. I already knew where he lives. I actually know a lot about this guy, I just couldn't tell him about his daughter."

"Do you want me to go with you? I could support you."

Kate got something from her purse. It was a paper.

"This is a copy of the father's paperwork. Would you please have a look at that?", Kate asked, giving Tony the paper.

Tony read it and was surprised.

"I really forgot about that. Are you totally sure, Katie?"

"Yes, that was in my file at the hospital. I went there some weeks ago, I didn't know how to tell you. Something like 'Tony, you are the father of my daughter, who has Leukemia. You are probably her only change to survive.' wasn't such a good idea, don't you think?"

"It would have been the truth, even it would have been more then shocking. _I have a daughter_!!! I can't believe it. Katie, _we_ have a daughter.", Tony shouted happy.

"You are happy about that? I didn't know how you would react. That's something you don't hear every day."

"Of course I'm happy. Does she know?", Tony asked.

"No, she doesn't know, that Matt wasn't her father. But I have told her about you but only as a team mate. We often joked about you. Every time I see her at the hospital she asks about you."

"That's my little girl.", Tony said, taking a closer look at the picture Kate had given him previous.

"She has my nose and mouth.", Tony noticed.

"Every time I looked at her in the past year I saw something familiar in her face. I just didn't know what it was. It was you that I saw there. She looks a lot like you, Tony. And she has a lot of your personality. She is smart and funny. She likes to laugh and to play games."

"I really look forward to meet her. She looks just the way I imagined our children would probably look.", Tony said.

"You imagined how our children would look?"

"When work was boring or at night I dreamed about our live together even I knew that it would never come true. But now I think I have a good chance to fulfill my dreams."

"Now that you nearly everything about my life including the secret about my daughter, it would be the perfect time to meet my mother. How about tomorrow? We can have dinner together at my house."

"Whoa, that's kind of fast. I love you, but that's a bit too fast for my liking."

"Normally I wouldn't have asked you but the situation is kind of difficult. I mean, we have a child together."

"But I can't remember the fun part of that.", Tony smiled.

"Tony, please. I try to be reasonable. We have a child together who is seriously ill. We have known each other for over a year now and we are in love. So it's just normal that you meet my mother. And you said yourself that you want to meet Mandy. She spends most of her time with Beth. So sooner of later you will run into my mother. I prefer sooner when I'm there with you. You don't need to be afraid of her; she is a kind woman."

"That I can imagine, with a daughter like you. Okay, I will meet your mother tomorrow. Normally, I don't meet the families of my girlfriends.", Tony said.

"I wonder why? Normally you are not long enough together to get on first name basis.", Kate teased him.

"That was a low blow, Katie. But I'm really looking forward to meet your mother and our daughter. And I will do a test to see, if I fit, on Monday. Do you think, that would be fine?"

"That would be great. Dr. Andrews will do the test and I will stay with you at the hospital the next few days. It's not that bad but you will be sore afterwards."

"Okay, then I will call Gibbs Monday morning to tell him I won't be at the office next week. You know, he wil go ballistic. First you took leave of absence and now I'm out of work for a week."

"I know, and I'm really happy that I won't be at the office, when you call him.", Kate smiled.

TBC...

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked it, if somebody read that part. There are more to come in some time. I have some more idea's for fanfictions, just no time for writing. But stay tuned there will come more parts. 


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hi guys. I wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year. I hope you like the new part. Perhaps I find some time to write a new one in the next couple of days. Love, Nicole** **Part 9**

Saturday morning Kate spent with Tony. At noon they went shopping for dinner which Kate cooked at her house. Beth was the whole day at the hospital and hadn't seen her daughter for some days. She was really looking forward to spend some time with her.

"Caitlin, darling. I'm home. Mandy said hello.", Beth said when she entered the house. She went into the kitchen where she heard the voice of her daughter.

"Mom, welcome home. How is Amanda?"

"She missed you today, but she will be home with you on Monday. She is as fine as she can be, considering everything. I didn't know that we are having guests tonight."

"He is more than a guest, mother. This is Anthony DiNozzo, my team-mate and what is more important, he is Amanda's father."

"That's Tony?", Beth asked. Kate nodded. "And he is her father?"

"Yes mother, I couldn't believe it myself. I mean we work together since one year and he didn't even know that I have a daughter until yesterday evening. The world can be so small.", Kate said.

"But I'm truly happy that it is someone you know. It makes things easier."

"Yes, it made things easier and harder for me. I mean, I know him but how was I going to tell him about his daughter? Tony had been a great help the last few weeks. I was with him when I wasn't at home or at the hospital. His mother died on Leukemia when he was fourteen."

"I just knew what it was like, even I assumed Amanda was Kate's friend or sister. Nobody at work knew about her daughter or even that she was married. But I'm glad that you told me now.", Tony said.

"Are you going to get tested?", Beth asked.

"Of course, I will do the test. If there is only a slight possibility that I can help her, I will. I want to meet my daughter and spend very much time with her and her mother. You of course, too. Amanda is my daughter and I want to know her. I want us to be a family, Kate."

"Tony, you don't need to do that. Yes, Amanda is your daughter, But I won't force you to anything.", Kate said.

"Katie, you don't force me to anything. Even before I knew that we have a child together I asked you to move in with me. That offer still stands. I love you Kate and I really would like to spent the rest of my life with you. And with our daughter."

"On Tony, that's so sweet. But I can't promise you anything. First we need to introduce you to Amanda. But I'm not sure if it will be a good idea to tell her that you are her father. She doesn't know that Matt wasn't her dad."

"That's fine with me. At the moment I will just be your teammate and boyfriend. We can tell her later that I'm her father. How about dinner now? You know, I'm really starving.", Tony said smiling.

On Sunday Kate and Tony went to the hospital together to visit Amanda.

"Hi Mandy.", Kate said, when she entered the room. "How are my little angel?"

"I'm fine mommy. I can go home tomorrow.", the little girl smiled.

"Yes, you can. And I'm really happy about that. I will stay with you when you are at home."

"You don't need to work?"

"No, I don't have to work for some weeks. First you have to get well. Look Amanda, you got another visitor.", Kate said and pointed to Tony.

"Hello Mister.", Amanda said.

"This is Anthony DiNozzo, Amanda. You know, that guy I work with.", Kate smiled.

"You are that funny guy from work? Mommy told me a lot about you. Nice to meet you, Mr. DiNozzo."

"Nice to meet you, too. But please call me Tony. Mr. DiNozzo makes me so old, don't you think?"

"Yes Tony.", Amanda giggled.

"Tony will spend some time with the both of us when you are at home. I hope, that's okay for you. I know that you wanted to meet him badly.", Kate smiled.

"That's great, Mommy. What will we do, Tony?", Amanda asked.

"I don't know, do you have any favorite places to go? When I was at your age I liked the zoo the most."

"I like that, too.", Amanda said.

"So we will go to the zoo next week. Why don't you stay here with Amanda, while I look for Dr. Andrews?", Kate said to Tony and left the room.

Kate found the doctor soon. "Dr. Andrews, do you have a minute?"

"Of course, where is the problem?", he asked entering his office with Kate following him.

"I talked to Amanda's father and he will do the test. I would like to have it done at the beginning of next week, if possible."

"I would like that, too. Can I talk to him previous?"

"Of course. He is with Amanda at the moment. She doesn't know, that he is her father. She only knows Tony as my team-mate."

"Okay, I won't mention anything in front of her. Can you please get him for me?", the doctor asked.

Kate went to get Tony.

"Dr. Andrews, this is Anthony DiNozzo, Amanda's father. Do you need me here?", Kate asked both, Tony and the doctor. When both men told her no, she went back to her daughter.

"Mr. DiNozzo, you know, that your daughter has Leukemia?", Dr. Andrews asked.

"Yes, Kate told me. And I know that the first treatment wasn't that efficient. You need to do a bone marrow transplantation. That's the reason why I'm here. I want to get tested. I need to help my daughter."

"I sure understand your need to help her, but please understand that there is a possibility that you won't fit either."

"I understand. Amanda is not the first one I know with Leukemia. My mother had it, too. Only she was diagnosed too late to do anything. She died when I was fourteen. There is still a chance, that I fit. So, will you do the test?"

"Of course, I will do the test. I just wanted to make sure that you know the possibilities. When would be fine for you?"

"I would like to do it as soon as possible. What about Monday?"

"Okay, that would be good. Then we would have enough time to think about something else. How about eight o'clock in the morning?"

"I would prefer a later hour, since I need to tell my boss that I won't be at work for a few days. And I can tell you he won't be happy about that. You know, I work with Ms. Todd and now we are both out of work. There aren't many coworkers left for him."

"Okay, then you will just come to me when you are able to be at the hospital. How about that?"

"That would be fine. See you on Monday.", Tony said and went back to his newly found family.

On Monday Tony went to the office. He was the first to arrive there. He even got a coffee for Gibbs.

"DiNozzo, what are you doing her at this early hour? Did your date got rid of you early?", Gibbs asked when he entered the office.

"Actually no, I just wanted to finish some of my paperwork, since I won't be at the office this week."

"I think I didn't get this right. You didn't just say, that you won't be at the office this week, did you?"

"You got that right. I need to go to the hospital. And don't even ask if I can postpone this appointment. That is really important for my little girl."

"What little girl, DiNozzo?"

"My daughter, Gibbs."

"Your daughter??? Since when do you have a daughter and why didn't I know about that fact?", Gibbs asked, downing his coffee. He had the slight feeling that this would be a stressful week.

"She is two years old and you didn't know about her, because I didn't know about her since Friday night. Now I need to go to the hospital to get my bone marrow tested."

"Bone marrow tested? Does she have Leukemia just like that Amanda of Kate? What a coincidence."

"Yes, she has Leukemia and I wouldn't call it coincidence.", Tony said calling the lift. When he got in, his last words were: "They are one and the same person."

Gibbs believed he had some terrible hearing problems. He just had to misunderstand Tony's last words. There was no chance that Tony and Kate had a child together. Gibbs went down to Ducky.

"Jethro, what are you doing down here? There is nothing we work on, so I don't have any results for you."

"I need your medical knowledge, Duck. Would you please do a hearing test on me?"

"A hearing test? Do you have any problems lately?", Ducky asked concerned.

"I think I do hear things, that can't be right."

"And what would that be?"

"Like Tony and Kate having a two your old daughter together. But how can that be?"

"I really don't know, my friend. But don't you think that your friends have the right of a private life?"

"Of course they have. But two years? They have met only last year. So how can it be?"

"Well, there are different possibilities. Once, I think tit would be five years ago a friend of mine had a case where the parents of a son hadn't known each other but lived in the same house for about ten years."

"Duck, please. I really don't have time for it now. I have to find out the truth.", Gibbs said and left the morgue. He went to Kate's best friend at work; Abby.

"Boss-man, what brings you down to me this early?"

"Something about Kate. You do know her really well, don't you?"

"I would say so. She is my best friend, besides you. Did something happen to her?", Abby asked worried.

"Don't worry, nothing had happened to Kate. Do you know, who this Amanda is?"

"No, I don't know. I never asked and she was to worried to talk about her. What's the matter with her?"

"Did you know, that Kate has a daughter? Two years old?", Gibbs asked.

"No, I didn't know that either. She never told me, but how do you know? Did she tell you?"

"No, she told me either and I'm not even sure if this information is correct."

"Who did tell you then?", Abby asked.

"Tony did. He was here in the morning, just to tell me that he won't be in this week, since he had an appointment with the hospital to get his bone marrow tested to help his daughter. The last what he said was, that Kate's Amanda and his daughter are one and the same."

"Tony has a daughter, too?"

"I really don't know what I should believe anymore. It can't be possible. They know each other since last year; they can't have a two year old child. And why didn't one of them tell us about Amanda?", Gibbs said. He didn't like it when his agents had secrets.

"There is only one way to find out the truth. We have to call Kate or Tony.", Abby suggested.

"Tony won't be such a good idea since he will be at the hospital. Try Kate and I really want some answers."

Abby called Kate's cell. After several rings she answered it. "Hi Abby, what do you need?"

"Hi Kate, I don't need anything from you. I just called to hear how you are?"

"I'm fine. Amanda is going to come home today. She isn't feeling that great, but the first treatment is over and she really wants to come home. At the moment we are looking for a donator."

"I never asked, who Amanda is. Is she your sister?", Abby asked.

"Gibbs is with you, isn't he? And he talked to Tony?"

"How did you know?"

"That was the only way. No, Amanda isn't my sister. How about dinner at my house Friday night? Then I will introduce you to Amanda and I will explain everything to you. Ducky and McGee are free to come, too. See you on Friday about five.", Kate said and closed the connection.

"What did she say?", Gibbs asked.

"Nothing. At least Amanda isn't her sister. Kate invited us for dinner on Friday. There we will meet Amanda and Kate is going to explain everything."

"I don't like that but I will wait for Friday. And I promise I will get my explanation then. No matter what."

At the hospital

Tony and Kate got to the hospital at nine. Then they looked for Dr. Andrews. When they found him, he got hold of a nurse who would make Tony ready for the surgery. Kate was with him the whole time.

"Hey Tony. You have to calm down. I didn't make such a fuss, when it was me facing the surgery."

"I know that I'm kind of difficult to handle at the moment." Tony said.

"At the moment? Tony, you are always hard to handle. That's part of your personality. But know you have to try to get some rest. I promise you to stay with you. And you don't need to be afraid. You won't feel anything of the surgery."

"That's not what I'm afraid off, Katie. I'm just scared that I won't fit either. I'm her last chance. I can't loose her now that I have found her. I would like to spend many years with the both of you."

"That's what I wish for, too. And now don't worry about the results. We will find a way to get Mandy healthy."

The nurse gave Tony some sleeping meds and soon he was out like a light.

Kate was with Tony when he woke up about two hours later. She was the first he saw.

"I really like that."

"What, lying at the hospital. I don't hope you are serious. I would really prefer being at home, relaxing."

"That was not was I was talking about. I meant you being the first thing to see after waking up.", Tony said smiling.

"And I hope there is not every time a hospital involved."

"I hope that, too. I would really prefer being at home with you, spending some time with our daughter. There is so much I need to know about her. Even she doesn't know that I'm her father."

"But she will know soon. And there are more persons who want know about Amanda."

"What are you taking about?"

"While you were at the office Abby called. I think Gibbs was with her. She wanted to know, who Amanda is. I invited the team for Friday night. I think it's time to tell them about our daughter."

"You think it's a good idea. You know Gibbs rules about relationships at the office."

"Well, two years ago we didn't had an relationship. And I didn't plan on telling them about us. Not at the moment. Or do you want to tell them?"

"I don't know? We still have some time to think about that. For now I just want to leave the hospital. You know, I hate hospitals.", Tony grinned.

"I can't promise you anything, but I will try my best.", Kate said and went for Dr. Andrews.

"Ah, Mrs. Todd. There you are. I was looking for you.", the doctor said, when he saw Kate in the hall way.

"That's good. I was looking for you, too. Mr. DiNozzo woke up some minutes ago.", Kate said and went together with the doctor to Tony's room.

"Hello Mr. DiNozzo. How are we feeling?", Dr. Andrews asked.

"Tired but otherwise I'm fine. When can I leave the hospital?", Tony asked.

"Well you have to stay here at least for two days."

"Is there no way I will stay here for the next two weeks. I really hate this place."

"But it is better this way for you. You will be sore for the next few days and you will need help with the easiest things. Here you will get this help."

"I don't need any help, doctor. Please let me go."

"Dr. Andrews, it would really be better if you release him. He can really be a pain in the ass."

"But he still needs medical attentions. The bandage need to be changed at least twice a day. And it is on a place he can't reach alone."

"That will be no problem. He can stay with me and my family. I can help him with everything and my mother worked as nurse many years. She will change his bandages. I really can say that it would be the best if you release him. For you, your nurses and all those other patients."

"Okay, I will release him but only to your care. I see that you worry about him much. But first there is a topic I want to discuss with both of you, and since you are both here, why not now?"

"What's the matter, Doc. Did you forgot something in me at the surgery?", Tony asked grinning.

"No, there was not enough space to leave something behind. It's something concerning Amanda."

"What's wrong with my little angel?", Kate asked frightened.

"I'm sure, there is nothing wrong. I was just making sure that there is still a possibility that Mr. DiNozzo won't fit either. Are there any more children?"

"I told you, that Amanda is my only child.", Kate said.

"And I don't have any other children. Since last Friday I wasn't aware of Amanda. But I'm sure there are no other ones. Why do you ask anyway?"

"A sibling could be a donator, too. There is a big chance that another child would have the right bone marrow."

"So you are suggesting to conceive a baby to help Mandy?", Kate asked.

"No, I wasn't suggesting anything. I was just making sure there aren't any other children who could fit Amanda's marrow. I will finish the release papers for Mr. DiNozzo. As soon as I'm back you can take him home.", Dr. Andrews said and left the room.

"That was strange. I don't believe the doc was just asking.", Kate said.

"Let's worry about that later. First I want to go home with you. Can you believe it, we are at home for the next week, together and Gibbs can't disturb us. That's too good to be true."

Kate packed the few things Tony had brought with him and soon Dr. Andrews was returning. Kate and Tony went back to her house, were Beth and Mandy were waiting for Kate to return.

"Mommy, you are home?", Mandy asked from the sofa where she was lying.

"Yes, I'm home and I brought someone with me.", Kate said and let Tony enter.

"Tony!", Amanda screamed when she saw that Tony was coming into the house next to her mother."

"Tony will stay with us for the next few days. You know he isn't feeling all to well at the moment. But I'm sure he will play some games with you. But first he needs to lay down. Can you go up the stairs?", Kate asked Tony.

"I'll see what I can do, but I think I'll need your help."

"I'm helping you up to my room. I'll take the guest room."

"You don't need to do that. I can take the guest room. I'll even sleep on the sofa."

"Don't argue with me. You'll take my room since there is a TV set and the bed is big enough to have Mandy in. And I'm sure she will spent a lot of time with you."

"That's something I'm really looking forward. And I hope her mother spends some time with me, too.", Tony grinned.

"I'll see what I can do.", Kate replied.

Tony spent the rest of the day sleeping. He wouldn't admit it, but the surgery had really worn him out. Amanda wanted to sleep next to him. At seven o'clock Kate went upstairs to wake both of them, but Amanda was already up.

"I think you are sleeping, Mandy?", Kate asked her little daughter.

"I was, but when I woke up I watched Tony. He makes some funny noises while sleeping."

"I know my dear, it's called snoring. Well, I told you Tony is a funny guy."

"I like him a lot.", Mandy said getting of the bed.

"So do I. Do you want to kiss him awake? I think Tony would really like that.", Kate said and Amanda kissed Tony and the forehead. He didn't wake up at first. Then Amanda began to tickle his foot. Tony woke up with a start.

"Ouch!", Tony screamed when he was moving to fast. "Where I'm and what I'm doing here? And what are you doing here?", Tony asked.

"I never imagined that this would be your word after your first night at my bed.", Kate whispered in Tony's ear.

"You are here to play with me, Tony.", Amanda stated.

"First of all Tony is here to get better. Do you remember why you are here?"

"Yes, I remember all now. I think the meds are still in my system.", Tony said and tried to get up.

"Why don't you stay in bed. I'll bring you something to eat. Are you hungry and thirsty?", Kate asked.

"Katie, there are things you can't do for me. Can you show me the way to your bath-room?"

Amanda showed him the way while Kate got something to eat together. When Kate got back, Tony was in bed again and so was Amanda.

"Mandy, it's time for bed.", Kate said.

"But mommy. Can't I stay up a bit longer. Tony is here and I'm sure he will get bored.", Amanda said.

"I don't think so. He'll be here tomorrow and you can spend the whole day together. But now you need to sleep and I'm sure Tony will sleep soon, too."

"Of course I will. I'm really tired and I want to be fit for tomorrow. Do what you Mom said. Sleep well, sweety.", Tony said.

After Kate brought Amanda to bed, she went back to Tony. "Hi Tony.", she said and sat down at the edge of her bed. "I see you didn't eat everything I brought you."

"Well, I'm not that hungry, but it was very delicious. Thanks Katie."

"You are welcome. How are you feeling really?"

"Still sore and a bit tired. But I don't want to sleep at the moment. I think we need to talk."

"About what?", Kate asked.

"About what Doc Andrews said earlier today. I don't think he just wanted to ask about our family. Another baby could be a solution for Amanda. It's possibile that I don't fit either.", Tony said.

"I know what you mean. But I don't want another child."

"You don't want any other children?"

"That's not like I meant it. I do want more children but not for this reason. I want a child because I love the baby's father."

"So, you don't love me?", Tony asked.

"Don't be silly. Of course do I love you. But I won't force you into something you are not ready for. And a baby would only make everything harder. What would you tell Gibbs? You know his rules about relationships at work."

"That are things we can worry about later. I love you and would really like to have another baby with you. I want to see you pregnant with my child. I want to hold your hand when you give birth and I want to be with you every single moment. I want us to be a family. And if the baby fits Amanda's bone marrow, it would only be a positive side effect."

"I don't know, Tony. Please don't get me wrong. I would do everything to help Mandy, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for another child. I still can remember what happened while I was pregnant with Amanda. I don't want to loose you, too." Kate began to cry.

"Kate, darling. I'm not Matt and Matt's death was an accident. He didn't want to leave you. And I'm not going to leave you on my free will. Nothing can take us apart, not even Gibbs. I love you and I think some time later I want to marry you, if you want.", Tony said.

"Did you just propose to me, Tony?", Kate asked.

"Only if you want. I love you with all my heart and I love Amanda and I really like your Mom. You gave me something I really missed. You gave me a family again. You are not Italian, but I think that's something my father can forgive me."

"Tony, you are really bad. Yes, I want to marry you.", Kate said and kissed Tony.

"So, do you want to try for another baby?", Tony said grinning when Kate finished the kiss.

"How can you even think about something like that? You just had a surgery. I don't think you will be able to try for a child."

"Probably you are right, but I can at least dream about it, can't I?"

"You can when you are sleeping. And that what you are doing now. Perhaps you are fit enough tomorrow.", Kate said and kissed him again.

"And you really think I can sleep now after what you told me. Probably I will fantasis the whole night about you and our new mission."

"Well, I didn't start the topic. If I remember right, it was you. So you have to live with the consequences. Sleep well."

"Katie, please. Don't leave me alone in this big bed. Everything smells like you and it's gonna make me crazy. Just lay don't next to me until I'm asleep.", Tony begged.

"Okay, but not a minute later. What would I tell my mother or Amanda if one of them finds us in bed together?", Kate said and laid down next to Tony.

Tony bend over to her and gave her a kiss. Soon both of them were asleep.

A/N: Did you like it? Please leave a review telling me.


	10. Chapter 10

Part 10

A/N: I know that I haven't updated in a very long time. But my life is kind of chaotic at the moment and I'm suffering a writer's block. I hope you still read this story.

When Kate woke up the next time, the sun was already shining through the window.

"I think, I felt asleep last night. Tony, time to wake up.", Kate whispered and bend over to kiss him.

"Morning Kate. I really like waking up next to you."

"Good to hear, but now we have to get up. My mother and Amanda will be up any time now. I don't want them to see us, not now at least."

"So, you don't wanna try it now?", Tony asked with a smile on his lips.

"What do you wanna try?", another voice asked. It was Amanda. She was lying next to Tony.

"Why are you not in your bed, Mandy?"

"I'm always afraid when we are not at home and I can't sleep in my bed. Then I crawl into your bed. I thought Tony would be afraid, too. And you were there, too."

"Yeah, your mommy made me feel save so I could sleep. But you are the reason I slept this well last night. Thank you Amanda."

"You are welcomed. So, what do you wanna try?", Amanda asked curious.

"I asked Tony if he want to try getting up, so we all can have breakfast together.", Kate explained her daughter.

"Yes, that's right. I want to have a real breakfast with you, your mother and your grandmother."

"Then get up. Granny already set the table.", Amanda said and left the room.

"That's some way to wake up. But you did a good job with explaining.", Tony said getting up.

"Ouch, I didn't know that getting up could hurt that much."

"Please Tony, don't be such a baby. I did the procedure, too and I wasn't in so much pain.", Kate said, helping Tony nevertheless.

"But I can try to get some pity from you. I really like it when you worry about me."

"And I like to take care of you, but we should really go downstairs now. Or Amanda will get coming back looking for you. And you don't want her to find us in a compromising position, would you?"

"What compromising position?", Tony asked smirking.

Kate bent over to kiss him passionately. "I meant this compromising position. And this time you would explain the situation."

"Okay, we better go down. I don't know if I could find a good explanation for our daughter. But with a kiss like that I can still hope."

"There is nothing to hope for.", Kate said grinning.

"No? You don't want to try for another child?", Tony asked kind of disappointed.

"Sometimes in the future we will try for a child. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Do you really think you could survive without it? But that's a fact and nothing to hope for."

"You are really good at torturing me. What about the other topic we discussed yesterday?"

"What other topic?", Kate asked.

"I'm not sure if I didn't only dream everything. Did you agree to marry me?"

"You didn't dream that. I really agreed to marry you, but only if you tell Gibbs about it."

"Okay, I think I can live with that. Then we have many planes to make."

"Hey, we didn't even set a date and you are talking about planes. I think first we have to tell our families and I don't think I can concentrate on planning a wedding when Mandy is still ill."

"Okay, you are right. First Mandy needs to get better and then we are going to marry. But I can tell my father about it, can't I?"

"Of course you can. And I'll tell my mother. But now we really have to go upstairs."

Kate helped Tony down. Together they all had breakfast. I was the first time in many years that Tony had a real family meal. The last time was on Christmas some years ago when his sisters had visited him.

After breakfast Mandy went to her room to play. Kate helped Tony up to her room again.

"Kate, do you have internet at home? I would like to e-mail my sisters. It's kind of difficult to reach both of them via phone." Tony said.

"Of course do I have internet. But my computer is at my home office in the basement. I don't know if you can get there."

"That's no problem. I brought my laptop with me. You only need to give it to me.", Tony said. Kate went to get the laptop and gave it Tony. He booted it up and started various programs. He began to write.

"I didn't know that you can type this fast.", Kate noticed.

"I don't type fast at work so I can spend more time with you and it kind of annoys Gibbs."

"Those are two things you really like, don't you?"

"Of course, otherwise work would be so boring.", Tony smiled. Then his computer beeped.

"What was that?", Kate asked.

"One of my sisters is online." Tony opened a window and a picture came up.

§ Hi Izzy, how are you? §, Tony typed.

§ I'm fine. Everything is great. What about you? I haven't seen you in a while. §

§ Well you know, Gibbs is kind of stressing at the moment. And there are some changes in my personal life.§

§ And that would be?§ Izzy asked. § Do you have a new favorite girl of the day? §

§ Actually I have only one favorite girl for the rest of my life. §, Tony wrote when the computer beeped again.

"Bev got just online. Perfect, so I can tell both of them. Are you ready for the first announcement?", Tony asked Kate.

"Of course, and it's only via internet. So how bad can it be?"

"You don't know my sisters, Katie.", Tony smiled and typed again.

§ Bev what a coincidence. Now I can tell you both. §"

§ I wouldn't call it coincidence. I had a date and you know that we always tell us about our dates. The question is why you are online? Boring at work. Don't let Gibbs notice that you are chatting with your baby-sisters. §

§ But that's not the office in the background and neither our home. §

"They do see you?", Kate asked.

"Yes, there is a small camera attached to the computer so we can always see us. That's the only way we see each of us for quite some months.", Tony explained.

§ You are right. I'm not at work and I'm not at home. §

§ Where are you then? §, Bev asked.

§ I'm at my fiancée's home. §, Tony typed and waited for the response.

§ You are what? Since when do you have a fiancée? And why didn't you tell us before. §, Izzy asked.

§ Who is she? Do you know her long enough? Do you love her? Have you told us about her? And what about Kate? Don't you love her anymore? §

"You told them about me?", Kate asked, who read the conversation on save distance, so the sisters wouldn't see her.

"Of course did I tell them about you. I tell them nearly everything. They are my sisters, they know that they can tell me everything and so do I. When I saw you the first time, I just had to tell someone about you.", Tony said.

Then he wrote. § I asked her to marry me a few days ago, but she only agreed yesterday so I didn't have a chance to tell you. And yes, I know her long enough, I really love her and will always love her. I have told both of you about her. I still love Kate and I still want to spend the rest of my life with her. I think that was the reason, I asked her to marry me. §

§ Yeah, finally. §, both sisters wrote back.

"I think they are happy you finally asked me.", Kate said.

"That you can say. Every time we met via internet or in real life they asked me, if I told you about my feelings."

"They must have thought that you are a really big coward."

"I know that I was a big coward, but there was too much at stake for me. What if I would have asked you to early in our relationship? Probably you wouldn't have spoken a single word with me. I couldn't risk that."

"Yeah, you are probably right. But now, everything is fine. We love each other and I can't imagine something better than to marry you."

"Oh, I could think of one or two things.", Tony smiled one of his famous smiles.

"That I can imagine. I really would like to meet your sisters one day. Do you think they would visit us?"

"We can ask them, but I think I already know the answer."

§ Little sis's, Kate wants to meet both of you. Do you think you can visit us before the wedding is going to take place? §, Tony wrote.

§ I think we can do that, don't we. It's about time we meet our sister-in-law-to-be. What about this weekend? You know there are holidays coming up and we were already planning on paying you a short visit. §, Izzy wrote.

"What do you think, Katie? I really can understand if this is going to be too much for you and Amanda. And the twins will understand, too. After all we have this dinner with Gibbs on Friday."

"No that would be perfect. I think Mandy would like to meet your sisters, too. She likes having people around her and at the moment she is having a very good phase. She isn't feeling ill at all. "

"Would you mind if I tell my sisters about Amanda. I promise you, they won't tell anyone about it."

"Of course wouldn't I mind. They are your sisters and after all, Gibbs and the others are going to know about Mandy on Friday. Why not telling your sisters."

"Thanks Kate, I really love you.", Tony said giving Kate a kiss.

§ That was gross, Tony. At least we want to see your fiancé. §, Bev complained.

Kate got near Tony so she was in the view of the camera.

§ Now I can understand why you are in love with her. She's really beautiful. § Izzy wrote.

§ Thanks, but that's not all I love about her. But you will meet her in a few days. There are two girls, who are really looking forward to meet you. §, Tony wrote.

§ Two girls. Is Kate also having a sister? §, Bev asked.

§ No, Kate only has four older brothers. §

§ Then who is the other girl? § Izzy asked.

§ The other girl is really a little girl. Her name is Amanda and she is our two year old daughter. §

§ Oh, Kate does have a daughter? §, both sisters asked.

§ No, **we** do have a daughter. That's kind of difficult to explain thing via internet. But Mandy is really my daughter. You'll get the story when you visit us. But you must promise me not to tell her. She doesn't yet know that I'm her father. §

§ That's so cool. We are going to be a real family again. We never thought you would have any children. We are so happy for you, Tony. §

§ Thanks girls. I'm really happy, too. See you soon. §, Tony wrote and ended the connection.

"I can't believe it. My sisters are coming on the weekend. I haven't seen them for some months."

"You really miss them, don't you?", Kate asked.

"Of course do I miss them. They are like my own children. Or don't you miss Mandy when we are out of town?"

"Yeah, I miss her then. I'm really glad that you are here with me. I couldn't ask for a better person to be Amanda's father."

"Thank you very much. I really like being her father. She is a sweet child, but with a mother like you there was no question about that one.", Tony said and gave Kate a kiss. The kiss deepened and soon both of them were carried away by the moment.

Later, when Kate got dressed again, she said. "Actually I wasn't going to sleep with you until we were married, but now I know what I would have missed. But I don't think that was such a good idea, since you are still recovering from the surgery. How do you feel, Tony?"

"Never felt better in my whole life. That was the best love-making I ever had."

"I have to second that, but I still don't think that this was a good idea. The doc said you should take it easy."

"But I took it easy. Just wait and see what I can do when I'm at 100 percent."

"Well, I have to be patient. But now we have to hurry. Mother and Mandy will be back anytime soon and I don't want one of them to find us in bed together, naked. That would be too much explaining to do for my liking."

"Yes, you are right. When are you going to tell your mother about us? And when are we going to tell Amanda that we are going to marry?"

"I think we are going to tell mother as soon as possible. She will be happy for both of us. And I'm not sure about Amanda. She does adore you, but I don't know how she will react when we tell her we are going to marry."

"But sometimes we have to tell her. At least when we have set a date."

"Yeah, then we will tell her, but first she has to get better. I don't want to rush anything. My first priority is Amanda's health at the moment. I can't concentrate on preparing a wedding, while my daughter could die any day. I hope you understand."

"Of course do I understand. And I don't want to fight with you. First Amanda need to get well and then we are going to make plans. I'm happy for the moment. Look at us, we are in your bed after having a great time, we don't fight, we don't need to work, we love each other and we have a great daughter. Why shouldn't I be happy?"

"You are a really sweet guy, aren't you? And I'm happy, too. But now I need to get dressed."

Kate and Tony had just finished getting dressed, when Beth and Amanda were entering the house. Tony had gone down to the living room, so he could entertain Amanda. Soon the dinner was made and Amanda was put to bed. She wanted that Tony read to her.

After dinner the adults sat together in the living room.

"Mom, we have to tell you something."

"What's wrong, my dear? Tony didn't get back the results, did he?", Beth asked.

"No, they would come before Wednesday. There is something else we have to tell you. Tony proposed to me and I accepted. We are going to marry, when Mandy is feeling better."

"Oh Caitlin, I'm so happy for you. And for you, too Tony. You two are made for each other. And Amanda will be thrilled. The whole day she spoke about Tony.", Beth said.

"That's good. It's really good, that she likes you; even she doesn't all the reasons why you are here. We are not going to tell Amanda til she is better. Hopefully this will be soon.", Kate explained. "We have enough explaining to do on the next days. Gibbs and the team are coming over on Friday. We are going to tell them about Amanda."

"Then I will go out on a date on Friday. You don't need me to hang around with your co-workers here."

"And my sisters are going to visit me on the weekend. They already know about our engagement and they know that Amanda is our daughter. I want them to meet you. They are really nice and could use something like a mother-figure.", Tony smiled.

"Don't you think they are old enough? They don't need a mother-figure around.", Kate said.

"Well, you don't know them."

"But I'm sure you did a great job by raising them. They can't be any worse than you are. And after all, you are a real nice guy when one knows you better."

"Thanks Kate, I'm flattered. But a female person in their life can't hurt, can it?", Tony asked smiling.

A/N: Did you like this part? I hope there was someone out there how read this piece.


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